It will be a book lovers’ heaven.
The annual CatSpan Book and Garage Sale is March 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and March 25 from 9 .m. to 3 p.m. at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre (132 E. Jensen Ave.).
CatSpan volunteer Jennifer Hebenton said the sale will include pretty much every category people would find in a bookstore.
There will also be DVDs, CDs and other garage sale items. Hebenton also said the garage sale portion of the sale will be larger than last year due to the overwhelming donations from the community.
Hebenton said the sale is usually well-attended, with a lineup of people waiting to get in on the first morning.
The sale is a fundraiser for the registered charity CatSpan, which cares for feral and stray cats in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area using the humane method of trap, neuter and return. The method traps the cats, which are then taken to a veterinarian and vaccinated before being returned to the outdoors, preventing reproduction.
CatSpan also provides veterinary assistance, food, advice to colony caregivers and education to the community about feral stray cats.
Hebenton said in the past year, CatSpan helped spay/neuter 42 cats or kittens in the area. At the charity’s June 2016 meeting, Hebenton said they were feeding about 70-80 cats in 16 colonies.
“There are still more (feral cats) than I think anyone wants to see,” Hebenton said.
CatSpan is a volunteer-based non-profit registered charity which relies solely on donations and fundraising events with 100 per cent of proceeds going directly to cat care.
In the past year, Hebenton said, they have spent in excess of $19,000, adding that it costs a lot of money to run a program like CatSpan.
Hebenton said last year the sale raised $11,000 with $9,000 as profit. She said this year they are hoping to make as much money as last year because it goes a long way.
For more information on CatSpan, visit www.catspanferals.com.